This past January, I had the misfortune of falling in my home early one evening. This was not my first fall at home and each occasion has resulted in a 911 call to secure assistance in getting back up. When the EMTs arrived from the Granby Ambulance Association, they got me up, checked my vitals and offered to take me to a hospital, which I refused. I found in the not too distant past that a ride to the hospital with the GAA costs in excess of $1,200. The EMTs were here about 15 minutes, left, and I went to bed.
In February, I received an invoice for $228 for services rendered. When I contacted the GAA I was told that the Connecticut State legislature had passed legislation allowing their agencies to charge for some services that did not require a hospital visit. In my case, $228. I was never charged in the past and was totally unaware of the new legislation.
The Chief of Service, Katherine Coupe, said they ran an announcement in the December Drummer which I did not see. The article headline was, Making the 911 call and told the story about the legislation but did not address the meat of the issue, how much they would charge. To make matters worse, they are not in network with United Healthcare, my insurance carrier, so there was no consideration for payment of the charges. I have not yet found out why they do not belong to the network.
In checking with the Simsbury Ambulance Service, I found that they do not yet charge for the type of service I received and will not cross the line into Granby. I believe it is time for the GAA to come clean and explain their service charges in a broad reaching publication for all potential users.
Robert A Sproat